A Closer Look; Incest Closer Look; Incest

The exception of one. Family With the exception of me. And my two boys all together. That's just not acceptable in society. It's not acceptable. I don't know why they've gone again. As soon as I found out I did what I expected. Before your first reaction might be what horrible crime did this woman commit. If anything she is a victim. She didn't know her daughters were being sexually molested by her husband. Incest. There are so many misconceptions and myths surrounding the word some social workers don't even like to use it preferring terms like intra family sexual abuse. But whatever you call it

there is little doubt the topic has finally come out of the closet. Not long ago it was thought that incest occurred in maybe one out of a million families. Today though incest is considered perhaps the most prevalent form of child abuse thought to happen in as many as 20 out of a hundred families. But incest is very different from physical child abuse physical abuse is usually spontaneous. A parent gets mad at a child and strikes sexual abuse though tends to be premeditated carefully planned when Mother is out of the house. Since most cases involve fathers and daughters. In this case it was Mary second husband the stepfather of her 7 and 8 year old daughters. One day a few months ago they blurted out to their mother that Daddy forced them both to have oral sex many nights while she was asleep. Why. Tell me. They were going you know we didn't realize how serious it was.

I had a look I said when did this happen. They said. A long time ago and left we can different times in the same Mary herself and she couldn't believe it. Especially since he'd been such a loving father. But what. I had become not extreme. I guess I felt that I was incapable of having children and sex for that. Film. Whatever. But I've never denied anything. Never. But Ken singer who heads Mercer county's Division of Youth and Family Services insists counseling

unit says incestuous fathers often turn to children to fulfill their needs. Most of the fathers are involved in a bad marriage. Lots of people don't turn to their kids for some reason. Most of the men in these families had great communication breakdowns in the sexual relationship with their wives was a lot of distance in the marriage. And what happened in that situation was that the father first turned. To the children for the closeness and somehow that closeness became sexualized singer a special incest program one Mary has joined in that her daughters will attend in the fall. About half the counties around the state have some kind of incest program. But Mercer county's program is considered the most extensive workers not only counsel to child counsel the entire family and the same place. There's a

mothers group a children's group and a father's group. Many of the fathers are forced to live there once they're convicted. Well we weren't allowed to film any of these Mercer County group sessions. We did talk to them from the diocese office in Somerset County asking not to be identified 17 year old Joyce has been molested by her father most of her life. I don't really remember. That far back but I know that. When I was about three it was going on. Mostly from stories from my brothers that they remember things happening like me coming down with a quarter or something like that saying I was told not to tell. Joyce eventually did tell her story to a grand jury. Her father pleaded guilty but was only sentenced to three years probation. He like many other incestuous fathers did not end up behind bars. But incest friends and fathers can get up to 20 years in prison. It's not just that where letting people go. We're keeping a close eye on them should there be

any other infractions of the law. Should there be taking up again of an incestuous relationship or anything like that. We have that. Really that control and that watchful eye over them so we're not just allowing them out into the street again. More than 9000 cases were reported to the State Division of Youth and Family Services. There's no way of telling how many of those cases involve a new computer system that will give that information. In the meantime Dreyfus is working closely with both local police and the Mercer County prosecutor's office trying to stop the crime by exposing it to continue. To some people but secrecy and someone has discovered the family secrets. The recidivism

rate is extremely low. So we really believe and we have patients and families we're working with. We visited Mercer County workers at one of their weekly planning session sometimes and talk about life. Her parents just not think it through very much but this person has been here. You could feel comfortable with your power. And the fear of men is fairly

common among victims and among their mothers as well. Before my. Time I mean tragically. I just wanted nothing to do with them. Ever again. I just started it. It's very hard for me having come already I had a bad enough attitude about men to begin with because this supposedly loving man who was supposed to take care of me didn't do that. And then as I got older I looked for love in the same way from boys and men my own age and I wasn't looking in the right place but that was the only way that I knew how to be loved and it was very scary very scary. It feels like something that you know you know it's bad for you. But it's

comforting at the same time. But the feeling from everyone we talk to is that incest is not just the hugest crime. It's a disease that must be treated and cured. It's a sickness that has to be talked about. There has to be out in the open. If it's not it's going to keep happening. That's the real taboo the taboo and incest itself which is a fancy name for Daddy screwing his daughter under the covers. And I think that if it was explained that way and talked about that way that it would feel a little foolish. Sure. There have been many steps since then Joy Stanton graduated from the University of Chicago

in 1952 and then she took a rather unusual step for a woman in those times. My job as education director for a union the Amalgamated clothing workers. Thirty years later she has clearly made a career of it. Why the labor movement. I was a student at the University of Chicago and all of us were very idealistic very dedicated. To trying to change society. If I was going to make a contribution to our society that I wanted to come to labor with which I still feel today is a viable force for social change. After a time off for marriage and a family then divorced returned to the union in 1962 as education director for the Chicago joint. Then she was promoted to administrative assistant to the manager where she did much of the community service work that was to make a name for her in the labor movement in Chicago.

We were able to establish an education program and a political action program and a. Childcare Center and a social service program and a prepaid legal program and an education program which is. A program supplementary insurance program. And we have our own health center in Chicago. We did put up cooperative housing on the South Side of Chicago 72. When I came to New York we have been trying to do this kind of national level in 1972 with a change in leadership in the National Union. She went to New York. Then in 1976 when amalgamated merged with the textile workers union she became international vice president and national.